Ch.6

You used up your chance, Adam.

The disobedient Adam came to have free will, and no being needed angels anymore. He would be deleted from this world. Then their new man would be born and replace him. Everything sank in and became clear in Adam's mind.

He was going to die today. Right here. There were no angels who cared about the first Adam. Those angels, they didn't matter to Adam, too. He only had to know this.

"Luci... Lucifer knows this? Did he know all?"

That I will die, be erased and replaced like nothing happened?

Sera hesitated. So Michael answered with eyes like asking Adam if that was the only question you wanted to ask at your last moment. "Yes. He knows."

"Liar."

"He knows you will die today."

"LIAR!" The spears aimed at Adam's neck. They were about to execute. They forced Adam to get down on his knees.

Adam needed to meet Lucifer. He had to listen 'he didn't know' from his mouth.

But how? He would be far from this venue. How can I let him know?

Adam laughed awkwardly. "Alright, easy. I just... didn't expect it. No offense."

They thought he would speak his last words, so they waited for him.

"Anyway, I'd like to congratulate you all. Sincerely." Adam pulled out something from his clothes, trying not to make any sudden move. It was a lyre.

"Let me play a wedding song I prepared for today. It's quite a surprise that I'm not the groom of this wedding, by the way-"

Michael gave Sera a disapproving look. But Sera nodded to Adam.

He started playing the strings. That's a bright melody in contrast with his inside. Nobody knows, there was an implicit promise between them. One of them plays the music, the other comes to meet him. They could hear each other's songs wherever they were for some reason. Adam prayed Lucifer could hear this. He hoped he could notice something happened to Adam.

The playing was about to end. "Thank you, man. It's so heartbreaking." Michael pulled his arm back to prepare to attack.

"Then, well. Bye."

The place suddenly fell silent. The next thing Adam knew, it was too quiet. He closed his eyes, preparing himself to be pierced by the spears and the terrible pain.

But he wasn't hurt. A strong wind blew all around. Adam instinctively crouched. He barely opened his eyes. The scene had changed all of a sudden.

The scary angels with weapons were lying on the ground. Some of them were being thrown against the walls like mounted art. Every intricate stained glass window was broken. Only then did he realize it wasn't silent.

He had temporarily become deaf from the terrific crash.

He was regaining his hearing and all of the noises were coming back.

A heavy storm was sweeping the place, simply blowing away the strong angels in heaven.

HOW-

Adam could hear the voice. He knew who it was before he looked back. But the voice was absolutely different from what he had heard forever. It sounded like thunder.

HOW DARE YOU-

Adam could see a short angel standing behind him. With his six wings unfolding, the angel glared his eyes in fury. Third, fourth, and more eyes appeared on his robe and wings. He stepped forward, shoving Adam to his backside.

"Lucifer!" Some angels who weren't passed out yet shouted in horror. "Fuck, call for reinforcements right now!" "Call them all!"

Michael soared into the air and attacked Lucifer. The other angels fought against him, flying and shooting angelic beams. The weak first man curled behind his guardian angel. He had never seen Lucifer fighting.

And he had never imagined Lucifer could fight neck and neck with the Six Archangels, the angel who Adam knew couldn't even kill a honeybee. But now, this Lucifer was madly shooting his devastating beams all around. The wedding hall became perfect chaos. The columns got cracked. Some parts of the ceiling were starting to come down. One of them fell off and destroyed the mud statue of the second man. One of the elders managed to run away with the statue of Lilith.

"Lucifer, stop it right now!" Sera shouted. But he didn't listen to her. "You really think you can let this man exist, and be erased, then you act like nothing happened?" Lucifer demonically grinned. "Don't forget you're in my house!"

His way of battle even looked beautiful. He flew into the sky and kept attacking against the warriors, easily avoiding their counterattacks. It seemed there was no way the other angels could stand a chance. Adam could tell Lucifer was the strongest in this heaven. Lucifer was flawlessly powerful. If he had only one flaw, it was -

He had someone to protect.

The second that Lucifer realized one of the spears he had avoided wasn't meant to be aimed at him, but at his man,

Lucifer had to choose the sure way to save him.

...

Blooming.

The golden color was blooming. No - that wasn't flowers. The angel's blood was gushing from his small back shoulder.

Lucifer threw himself at Adam and hugged him while pierced by the spear.

"LUCI!" Adam shouted, but there was no answer. Lucifer collapsed on top of him, helpless, as if dead.

"Luci, Luci! Look at me. Hold on." Lucifer let out a weak voice. "Run, Adam..."

"Everything's going to be okay. I'm going to save you, Luci. You will be okay..." Adam had no idea what he was saying. Lucifer closed his eyes. Adam pressed on his back shoulder to stop the bleeding.

"Luci! Fuck... FUCK! What are you all looking at?" Adam glared at the angels and yelled with a cracking voice.

"Do something, damnit! Are you gonna let him die? He's one of you, fuckers! You must save him!"

It was rather close to crying than demanding. But none of the angels stepped forward to help them. They were just looking down at them with cold eyes. "Fuck, save him. Save him... Sera!" Adam looked up at her.

"You can do whatever with me. Kill me, or use my body like... like the ingredient for your new creation, or the fuck whatever."

He wasn't shouting anymore. He was begging. "So, please... please save him." He hung his head and whispered like sobbing.

"Take only my life."

Sera didn't say anything for a long time. In the end, she pointed her finger at Adam, as if she had made a decision.

Adam felt himself slowly losing consciousness. Just before blacking out, he held his guardian angel tight, wishing this was not the last time he could hug his little angel.

...

The angel warriors held Adam in another hall. The place was too repugnantly grand and clean to be called a prison. The domed ceiling was way too high. The windows reaching up to the ceiling were lined up on one side of the wall. It was clear that the angels didn't have an idea of where they should keep their first felon.

Adam's neck was bound with a marble leash. Several chains reached in all directions, connecting the leash to the wall.

Adam was alone. It had been a while since he had felt this loneliness. Whenever he started to feel lonely, Lucifer came over to meet him. Then he could feel the emptiness gone and filled with love.

The love. Is that the sin that had ruined everything? They said free will had grown inside Adam. They hadn't designed Adam in that way. But Adam had invented it by himself. He had started to judge good and bad, more inclined to listen to his inner voice than the orders from heaven.

In the end, Adam had defied his destiny of love with his own will. It was supposed to be impossible. But it happened. What had made it possible?

If there was the only thing that could disobey the destiny of love, it was the very love itself.

Adam laughed bitterly. He loved Lucifer. He loved him so much that he broke his fate. And now, that love had driven Lucifer into danger.

Adam moaned in anguish. Is Lucifer okay? Did they really cure him well? He is a strong angel. He will be more resilient than others. But the injury looked fatal. It could be too late to save him... What if he was dead? What if Lucifer left me forever? I couldn't even hold his hand at his last moment...

Adam bit his teeth. Blood was coming out of his lower lip but he couldn't taste it. He couldn't feel anything except from the imagination of Lucifer dying. No, he will be okay. It never fucking happened. We can meet together.

Then someone came into the hall. His short silhouette was dark against a backlight. Adam found out it was Lucifer.

"Luci!" Adam shouted urgently.

"You are okay! Fuck, hah, Thank god..." He was grateful to god sincerely.

Lucifer walked up to him.

"Did they heal you well? Aren't you hurt now? You should have avoided it, stupid! You were going to kill yourself!" Adam poured out lots of questions happily and angrily at the same time. But something was weird. Lucifer didn't say a single word. He just looked down at him with dry eyes.

"Luci, are you..." "We shouldn't have met from the beginning."

"Under the tree. That's where everything went wrong." The voice was too cold. Adam awkwardly laughed. "Why are you saying that? I-, I'm happy to be with you always. You never know how much I-"

"However, there is still a chance to fix this situation."

Lucifer was grabbing something red in his hand. It was an apple.

Adam didn't have any idea about what the angel was doing or what he was talking about. What does 'fix' mean? What the fuck does it mean, wrong?

"The angel jury determined that free will would bring this trouble again. So they extracted it as much as possible for our next humans and sealed it in the tree where we met. That's the fruit of knowledge, never to fall into humans' hands.

Lucifer didn't keep on for a few seconds. Adam spoke low in disbelief.

"...is it the fruit?"

Lucifer slowly exhaled, and said "No." Lucifer held out the vivid red fruit.

"We- Seven Archangels made this. With their power, and my blood." Lucifer smiled cynically. Adam had never seen the angel smile like that.

"If I give it a name, well, the fruit of unknowledge? It makes sense. Haha! Have it, Adam." The laughter was void.

"When you eat up this fruit. It will erase all of your free will, and memories about me." Adam couldn't understand anything. He didn't want to know.

"Since you have been with me, my will has permeated into you like an infection. If you erase all memories of me, your free will will disappear. This is the pact that the angels and I made. They will allow you to live if you don't have it."

"Wait, wait- Hah! Luci! What are you talking about?" He meant to laugh but he spewed it out like a sigh. He was shivering in complex emotions.

"Is- Is it kinda new joke, huh? Only I didn't get it?"

"It's not a joke, Adam. You eat this, and forget about all of me."

"NO fucking way!" Adam ended up exploding.

"This is the only way you can extend your life." Lucifer calmly explained. Then Adam could tell the angel was also suppressing his emotions. "It is, we've never met."

"Yes we have, for fuck's sake!" Adam shouted. "We have met in Eden since the moment I was born, you have been there!"

"No." Lucifer coldly said. "You were alone at that time."

"When you sang on the tree, every time, I played the lyre! You taught me, and we, and we have made a bunch of songs!"

"No, you've made the songs by yourself. No one taught you." The angel's voice shook a little.

"You taught me how to swim, how to ride a horse, and- and, hey, you taught me how to get honey from beehives, right? You've told me many stories. You said the stars were there for me. And you sang me lullabies, lots of songs!"

"We've never met, Adam..."

"And we flew together, at dawn. When I was sad, you were with me. You taught me what love is and how it is so beautiful. I loved it, Luci. I love everything with you, and then I told you-"

"ADAM!"

The yelling resounded through the grand hall. The voice was cracked too, like it was crying. Lucifer grabbed Adam's shoulder with his hand so tight.

"It's just a dream. Too long a dream."

The angel leaned forward to Adam so that he could see his face in detail. Lucifer had a faint grin on the tip of his lips. His eyes were reflecting Adam. The eyes were deep and filled with deep sorrow.

A drop of tear fell down from someone's chin. "It's over, Adam."

Lucifer handed him the fruit of oblivion.

"Let's wake up."